Prince Harry attended the WellChild Awards in London on Monday, joining young honorees in a playful balloon sword fight after a private visit earlier in the day to the tomb of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duke of Sussex, who landed in the U.K. for the first time in five months, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the WellChild Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. Photographs and social media posts from the charity showed Harry kneeling to speak with award recipients, laughing with children and accepting personalised gifts intended for his children, Archie and Lilibet. In one moment shared by WellChild, he sported a navy suit and took part in a balloon sword fight with nine-year-old Gwen, telling her the personalised Brighton Hove & Albion shirts she had brought for his children were "so good" and that he "loves them." A six-year-old award recipient, Esmee, was shown inspecting the duke’s polka-dot tie as he crouched to speak at her eye level.
Before the ceremony began, Harry met parents, carers and former winners who had returned to mark two decades of the awards, which recognise the resilience of seriously ill children and the dedication of their caregivers. In a statement issued ahead of the event, the duke said, "For 20 years these awards have highlighted the courage of young people living with complex health needs and shone a light on the devoted caregivers – family and professionals – who support them every step of the way. Their stories remind us of the power of compassion, connection and community."
Earlier on Monday, Harry visited the King George VI Memorial Chapel within Windsor Castle grounds to lay a wreath and flowers at Queen Elizabeth II’s resting place. The visit came on the third anniversary of the queen’s death.
Prince William and Princess Catherine marked the same anniversary with a separate engagement in Sunningdale, Berkshire, where the prince visited a local branch of the Women’s Institute. The couple were about seven miles from Windsor Castle and roughly a 16-minute drive from where Harry paid his respects; the brothers did not meet. William, accompanied by Catherine after a last-minute decision to attend, said he "can't quite believe it has been three years already," remarks that echoed public reflection on the anniversary.
The WellChild Awards, attended by health professionals, families and public figures, are intended to highlight individual stories of young people living with complex health needs and the family and professional support that surrounds them. Harry, who has been a patron of the charity, attended with his comments focused on the honorees and their caregivers; his children remain in the United States with his wife, Meghan Markle.
There has been media attention on the proximity of the separate royal engagements and on the wider relations within the royal family, but no official meeting between the Duke of Sussex and other senior royals was reported during Monday’s events.